TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® was founded on the belief that we could make a difference in people’s lives. And we think our blog will, too! Everyone’s story is different. Whether you’ve established a career in real estate, insurance, sales, finance, you own a small business currently, or you’re a recent grad, we celebrate you! Our hope is to inspire people to seize their dreams of owning their own business.

What a successful franchising year for TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®!

The TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® franchising development team enjoyed a successful year signing on new franchisees to the system. Throughout 2013 they jet-setted from coast to coast, determined to find the perfect franchisee prospects to add to the growing footprint and to assist the TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® system in achieving our 2018 vision.

We wanted to highlight a few of our wonderful new franchisees. Here are their stories:

David Williams and Eric Williams

Opening Date: March 10, 2014

Territory: Boynton Beach, FL (Delray Beach, Lake Worth)

David and Eric Williams have both made significant accomplishments thus far in their lives. David, 56, is a radiologist and the owner of a multi-unit imaging center. His son Eric, 23, is currently a student at Florida Atlantic University and serves as an assistant coach leading the university’s swim team. The father-son duo added another title to their resumes: TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® franchisees.

Why they choose TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®:

“Eric always wanted to open a business with a particular interest in the moving industry. At that point, we decided two things; first, to go into business together, and, second, to choose a franchise. Since I was familiar with TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®, we researched that option, and we saw it was associated with VetFran, which interested me as a veteran. At that point, everything came together. Becoming part of the TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® family seemed like the best decision for us.” – David Williams

Nick Bailey

Opening Date: December 2013

Territory: New Brighton, MN

While Nick Bailey was in college, he was looking for a part-time job — that’s how he came to work as a mover for TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®. Once Bailey graduated in 1998, he moved back to Minnesota to pursue the dream with his father. By March of 1999, the two men had purchased the franchise territory, received approval from corporate and opened the doors to Minnesota’s first TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® location. Now, after four years of sweet success, and with the help of a fantastic team, Bailey is poised to take the next step by expanding his territory north into New Brighton, Minn.

Why he choose TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®:

“As a franchisee, my job is very different now than in it was in 1998, but it’s important work, and I feel like I have the opportunity to make a real difference for a lot of people. Working in the service industry, especially moving, can be very rewarding; plus, I’ve always enjoyed working with people.” – Nick Bailey

Kyle Norcutt (2 locations)

Opening Date in Dallas: October 2008

Territory: Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas

Norcutt officially joined TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® at the age of 23, opening his first location in Raleigh, N.C., in January 1998 before developing locations in Indiana, Texas, Oklahoma, and Colorado. In addition to his Dallas-Fort Worth territory, Norcutt has retained his two locations in Michigan, one in Colorado and two in Oklahoma.

By January 2014, Kyle Norcutt, now 39, will own the entire Dallas-Fort Worth market for TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®. Opening his first Dallas location in October 2008, Norcutt will expand his reach from eight to 10 territories, with four to five dispatch locations and one call center. Currently, the $7 million Dallas territory has 40 trucks and 120 employees, and Norcutt hopes to double these figures within five years of his expansion.

Why he choose TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®:

“I have always been an entrepreneur. I had my own paper route when I was 8 years old. I also started my own lawn mowing service at the age of 10 and kept it running throughout middle school and high school. I managedemployees and learned how to take care of customers at a young age. Then, after a few years of working in industrial and retail sales, I realized I wanted to own my own business and control my destiny. I’ve always liked taking care of customers and giving back to the community, so working in the service industry made sense. It wasn’t out of my comfort zone, and it was something that I knew I could do well. Also, I was young enough at the time to be involved in day-to-day moving.” – Kyle Norcutt

Shane Jette

Opening Date: 1/6/2014 – TBD

Territory: Portland East

Shane Jette was introduced to TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®by a couple who are currently franchisees with the company and with whom my wife and I have become good friends. For a while, he was doing mission work and worked for the couple in customer service on and off and recently started helping out full-time. Jette currently resides in Ohio and will relocate to Portland in November to set up his TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® franchise. While establishing his new business, he will also start a nonprofit organization out of Portland.

Why he choose TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®:

“I have always been committed to service and community outreach, and opening a TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®provides me with an avenue to continue helping others. They say there are three things in life that are the most stressful: divorce, death, and moving. A lot of times they are related. For example, someone gets divorced, so they have to move out of the house, and then you have two stressful things in life coming together. Sometimes it’s a father who’s passed away and children need movers to come in and remove his belongings.”

Kathleen White

Opening Date: September 3, 2013

Territory: Virginia Beach, VA

Kathleen spent a majority of her career working for the State of Michigan in the business retention and expansion division at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. In her role as business development manager, she assisted companies with their operations growth and expansion within the state. Raised in North Carolina, Kathleen White is returning to the east coast to take on the next phase of her career – owning her own TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® franchise, a company she knows well. TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® had been a client of Kathleen’s; she was an integral part of developing and supporting the company during the brand’s corporate headquarters expansion in Lansing, Mich.

Why she choose TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®:

“I ask two questions before I consider any opportunity: What is driving growth, and is it sustainable? Through these conversations, I learned about their exciting development goals and the newly available territory which they were targeting for expansion, Virginia Beach, Va. I recognized a ripe opportunity, plus I was impressed with the company and their high level of integrity and strongly felt it was a unique and timely fit for me.”

Ted Gryska

Opening Date: February 3, 2014

Territory: Stafford, TX

Despite having a well-known name in Alabama and a football pedigree, Teddy wanted to pursue his own dreams of business ownership. When contemplating which direction to venture in, he started looking into new opportunities and consulting with close friends.

Teddy has a few good friends who own TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® locations in various U.S. territories. David Richardson is not only a close friend but Teddy’s accountant, and Teddy saw the success Richardson, a TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® franchisee, has achieved in his own franchises based in Mobile, Ala., and Pensacola, Fla..

Les and Brooke Wilson (2 locations)

Opening Date: November 1, 2013

Territory: Top of Montgomery County, NC and Northwest Washington D.C.

Husband and wife team, Les and Brooke Wilson, are opening their sixth TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®franchised location and bringing the growing moving company to the Bethesda, MD area—the first location to serve Maryland and Washington D.C. The entrepreneur couple has seen a plethora of success with the company at their three locations in North Carolina; covering Raleigh-Durham, Greenville, and Burlington, and two locations in Atlanta. Their healthy growth plans include another opening in Columbia, MD on April 1, 2014.

Why they choose TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®:

“We believe we have a really good relationship with the corporate office, which helped us want to continue growing as they grow. The corporate team is professional and easy to work with; we pride ourselves on being a part of an operation that presents professional diversity and balance while also focusing on providing the best possible service and aid to the local community.”

Bryan and Rebecca Feldman and Nathan Bocock (2 locations)

Opening Date: November 1, 2013

Territory: Richmond, VA and Chesterfield, VA

Co-owners Bryan and Rebecca Feldman and Nathan Bocock have all worked their way through the ranks at TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®, culminating with the purchase of their second franchise together. The team already operates a total of three locations between the three of them, meaning the addition of the Richmond territory, and later the Chesterfield territory, will bring the total up to five franchise locations across the nation.

Why they choose TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®:

“We love being a part of a franchise system and TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® is a phenomenal one. The support is really fantastic and we can be assured that they have systems in place to make the business easy for us as owners. TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® has high standards for quality service, so we know that all our fellow franchisees across the nation are providing excellent customer service and a quality product.”

Adam Slack and Martin Pollack (2 locations)

Opening Date: 9/3/13, starting moves week of 9/16

Territory: Northern Virginia

Slack and Pollack had been trying to open up a business together, and after one attempt at an independent boat rental business, they began looking for different opportunities. That search would take two years of research before they found and decided to open their own TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®. “The more we heard, the more we liked,” said Slack. The team went to Lansing to meet with the corporate team and immediately had a “full speed ahead” attitude toward their Arlington, Va. opening. Slack plans to bring vision and experience to the finance side of the business, helping to make decisions behind-the-scenes so he can help the location grow as quickly as possible.

Why they choose TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®:

“We sat down one day and looked at all the different businesses we could open. We went through a list and began crossing off concepts as we researched. After we found TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®,I was impressed by the low amount of turnover for franchise owners. That struck me because it meant people really stuck around. After I talked to some franchise owners, the consensus was everyone was very happy with the company.”

Donald Gwin and Tim Swindle

Opening Date:

Territory: Gulfport, MS

Prior to opening the Gulfport franchise, both Gwin and Swindle worked in the roofing industry. With the opening of the Gulfport location quickly approaching, their focus has been on hiring and training staff and purchasing a fleet of trucks to meet demand.

“We see great potential for growth in our service area, which includes Gulfport to Hattiesburg and Biloxi to Bay St. Louis. We’re eager to open our doors and start building relationships throughout the community so that TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®becomes a trusted moving name in Gulfport.” – Swindle & Gwin

Erin Whitty

Opening Date: May 1, 2013

Territory: Atlanta, GA

Prior to opening the franchise, Erin Whitty served in a variety of roles, including sales manager, general manager, and multi-unit franchise manager to the moving company’s other Atlanta-area locations. While working in these roles, she gained tremendous insight to opening her own franchise.

“Having joined TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® in 2001, I have seen firsthand the moving company’s tremendous growth – nationally and in the Atlanta region – over the past 12 years,” Whitty said. “When this franchise territory became available, I jumped at the opportunity. I look forward to building upon the wonderful reputation my fellow franchisees have developed locally for providing exceptional moving services and unmatched customer service.” – Erin Whitty

James Bennett

James Bennett is currently a partner at Northern Valley Animal Clinic where he works as a veterinarian. He chose to go into franchising because he’s always supported the business market and felt he could pursue business ownership successfully through a proven franchise system. Since franchising is standardized and people find success doing it all over the United States, Bennett wanted to explore his own options. Additionally, because of his age, Bennett wanted to find something that could offer him a revenue stream after retirement.

Zinser introduced his stepdad to TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® when he began working for the brand in 2003. After moving to Colorado Springs from his native Rochester, Minn., to be closer to the mountains and supreme snowboarding spots, Zinser began working as a mover. =

Why they choose TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®:

“Chris always liked the company and without him, I would have no idea how to invest in a moving franchise. Once I started investigating and actively looked into potential business opportunities, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®looked like something Chris and I could do together. We’re a strong business team and the moving company was the best mix for us.”